Guts. Glory. Heroes and heartbreak. All the honour and bastardry and pain and joy of a long sporting season comes down to this.

The Roosters, the defending champions in the National Rugby League competition, strut out on to ANZ Stadium on Sunday evening as favourites. The Sydney side is hoping to accomplish what no team has since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992-93 and win two premierships in a row. A place in the pantheon beckons.

The Canberra Raiders, not long ago in rugby league's wilderness (they couldn't even win the wooden spoon earlier this decade during their nadir), are back in the winners circle with a vengeance having finished the season in the top four teams.

Sydney carry the weight of expectations on broad shoulders. For Canberra, however, it's a classic underdog tale, and even though the Raiders have made an incursion from over the border they have a storied history as three-time winners of the competition. But it is 25 years since the Green Machine were champions, a long wait, and for Ricky Stuart 17 years since he tasted glory in his debut season as a senior coach – in those days, for the Roosters. Such are the twists and turns of fate and rivalries that give sport its drama and meaning.

For the NRL itself, the outcome is positive regardless of the score when the final whistle is blown. While it would be glib to say football is the real winner, there will be more than a few league luminaries in the upper echelons of the grandstands relieved the season has passed without much in the way of controversy. For the most part, the contest has been confined to the field.